Genesis Chapter 6

Genesis 6 (ESV)

When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. 5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord . . . Continue Reading

Regrets

Genesis 6:5 – “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” What a staggering thought . . . God not only sees our actions but knows our every intention!

In the verses preceding this laser beam vision of God towards mankind, there are some disturbing verses regarding relations between the “sons of God” and the “daughters of men” that was so wicked that God “regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.” (Genesis 6:6)

What is God’s response? “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” (Genesis 6:7)

And now a “big but” appears in the very next verse (Genesis 6:8), “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”

How was Noah different? Why did God find favor with him? Genesis 6:9 says “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.”

This stands in contrast to those mentioned in Genesis 6:11-12, “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.” I think this references back to Genesis 6:2 that says, “the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose” and the daughters of man “bore children to them.” (Genesis 6:4)

What a gross corruption of God’s command to be “fruitful and multiply.” (Genesis 1:28) But God is not going to bless them. His wrath is about to be unleashed on them!

In the midst of all this violence and perversion, the “blotting out of man” in Genesis 6:7 comes into focus in Genesis 6:17 when He tells Noah that He “will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.”

Another “big but” appears in Genesis 6:18, “But I will establish my covenant with you.”

God not only tells Noah what His plans are for the world but gives him instructions to build an ark, the specifications on how to build the ark and what to do once the ark is built!

What was Noah’s response? “Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.” (Genesis 6:22). How much did he do? ALL that God commanded.

This is what it looks like to be righteous, blameless and to walk with God.

Thank you for reading my Daily Bible Journal!

Reading, reflecting and writing from the Bible has so radically impacted my life in Christ, it’s as if I’ve been on auto-pilot when reading the Bible in the past. There’s something about “sitting with the text” and through prayerful reflection, sharing what comes to mind. Because I’m posting online for others to read, I consider my words carefully and try to be clear and accurate.

This daily process enhances my understanding of God’s Word and embeds it into my conscience. It literally gets “hidden in my heart!”